The U.S. Department of Transportation issued guidance doubling down on zero tolerance for cannabis use by professional truckers.
- The guidance was issued this month by DOT’s Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance alongside the Office of the General Counsel.
- Transportation workers cannot use state-licensed medical marijuana to excuse a positive drug test.
- Guidance the recent Drug Enforcement Administration order that reclassified certain cannabis products, including state-regulated medical marijuana, from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.
- First-draft language for the next highway bill includes provisions to fund states' procurement of advanced roadside-drug-test equipment and multiagency collaboration on roadside-test techs.
DOT has long held that reclassification would not affect how the agency approaches drug screens and that marijuana use, medical or otherwise, remains prohibited.
DOT told Overdrive sister publication CCJ the agency is working with its interagency partners "to maintain safety in the transportation industry," adding that nothing is changing with regard to testing protocols.
Marijuana remains a prohibited substance under 49 CFR Part 40, and the standard five-panel drug test used by the DOT is unchanged.
"Testing of transportation safety-sensitive employees pursuant to USDOT's drug testing requirements remains in effect, including testing for marijuana, and is consistent with the rescheduling direction from the President’s Executive Order," likewise the Department of Justice order that put reclassification in motion, DOT said.
[Related: Department of Justice officially reschedules marijuana: What truckers need to know]
In light of federal rescheduling, DOT clarified that Medical Review Officers cannot overturn a laboratory-confirmed positive drug test or mark it negative based on an employee's use of state-licensed marijuana. Regulators noted that state-dispensed marijuana is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration and therefore cannot be legally prescribed federally.
The agency emphasized documentation such as state-issued medical marijuana cards, physician recommendations, or dispensary receipts do not meet federal compliance standards, and that under federal transportation regulations, any cannabis use through state-level programs or other non-prescription sources fails to qualify as a valid medical exemption.
"Marijuana use is not compatible with safety-sensitive functions," ODAPC noted.
Read CCJ's full report here, which includes details on language in the recently released first draft of the next highway bill centered on funding multiagency collaboration on roadside-testing techs and toxicological benchmarks for tracking marijuana and other substance impairment.
Overdrive's last close look at marijuana-induced impairment, in 2024, covered limitations and some new developments with respect to such roadside testing. Read that in-depth report via this link.
Marijuana today accounts for roughly 60% of all positive drug tests in the federal Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse for commercial driver test results.
Elsewhere in the highway bill draft, the text expands standard state safety grant parameters to let local agencies use federal highway funds to acquire advanced field-testing equipment. Text explicitly permits funding for "oral fluid screening technologies" and equipment aimed at boosting the "scope, quantity, quality, and timeliness of forensic toxicology chemical testing" to better intercept impaired drivers at roadside.
[Related: Marijuana legalization, trucking and the future of drug testing]
